#OscarsSoWhite & and Why #BlackWealthMatters
One of the most prestigious awards shows, The Oscars will be broadcast on Sunday. This year’s Academy Awards have generated more controversy because only white actors and actresses were nominated for all categories. It is reported that in the recent past no actors from ethnic minorities were nominated in 1995 or 1997 and in 2015 and 2016. The #OscarsSoWhite controversy led to some serious conversations about race in Hollywood. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences which hosts the Oscars is the world’s preeminent movie related organization, which is comprised of more than 7,000 members who nominate and award Oscars. Some argue that the reason for the lack of diversity among nominees can be explained by the fact that the Academy is currently estimated to be 94% white. While others argue that there would be more diversity in Hollywood if African Americans and other minorities could finance and produce their own work through their own studios. Looking to the future, the Miles Davis biography could possibly be nominated next year.
MILES AHEAD
Miles Ahead is the title of the major motion picture co-written and co-produced by actor/director Don Cheadle, along with Miles’ nephew Vince Wilburn, Jr. and his son Erin Davis. The film tells the story of a few dangerous days in the life of music icon Miles Davis (played by Cheadle), the virtuoso, fighter and genius, as he bursts out of his silent period and conspires with a Rolling Stone writer (Ewan McGregor) to steal back his music. The film has been funded in part through crowd funding on social media, and promises to be popular, introducing the trumpeter and his legacy to another generation. The score for the film featuring both recreations of Miles’ classic performances, as well as original music channeling contemporary styles and sounds — has already achieved critical praise as Cheadle recruited keyboardist, composer and producer Robert Glasper to compose additional music for the film, along with the legendary Herbie Hancock as consultant. Other well-known musicians and Miles’ alumni participating in the film include Wayne Shorter, Esperanza Spalding, Gary Clark, Jr. and Antonio Sanchez, while Glasper is also working on a remix project of the original soundtrack music.
Miles Ahead is looking to be a possible Oscar contender and will probably be popular during award season next year.
Miles Dewey Davis III was born May 26, 1926 and died September 28, 1991. He is an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential and innovative musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, together with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz, hard bop, modal jazz, post-bop and jazz fusion. In 2006, Davis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which recognized him as “one of the key figures in the history of jazz”. In 2008, his 1959 album Kind of Blue received its fourth platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipments of at least four million copies in the United States. On December 15, 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a symbolic resolution recognizing and commemorating the album Kind of Blue on its 50th anniversary, “honoring the masterpiece and reaffirming jazz as a national treasure”
